Sophie Andreya & Alexander Jake

Just a little update on us and the kids as there was no time to get a Christmas Letter out to all our beloved friends & family (sorry, maybe next year!)

Kids are growing up so very quickly. Alex is now 19m and is finally starting to say a few words such as All done (awdon), Mine (mie), More (moe), Cookie (doe-dee). Mostly he comminicates with a lot of big smiles and nodding of his head. Sophie is doing a great job as his language coach :-) She takes her responsibility as his parent very seriously. He is doing an amazing job at potty training even though we arent putting in a lot of effort. He just seems to get the whole concept without us having to do much about it, a very different experience than our last time.

Alex is such an active BOY and we are constantly renewing our 'babyproofing' around the house as he figures out ways to get around whatever we've created. The dishwasher now has to be turned off by the fuse (or he will run it at random throughout the day), this computer gets put WAY up high so he wont 'type' and reprogram it (it takes us awhile to figure out how he has managed to change various settings), the tv has two rubbermaid lids pushed up against the front with the bench from our table to protect all the buttons that change all the tv settings (something else he is amazing at reprograming), and our island stools are now stored in the bathroom so that they arent used throughout the house to reach all those items we are putting up high. Doesnt make for a very stylish house but it's functional for current purposes.

Sophie is 4 1/2 and in her first year of school (Junior Kindergarten). She had a great report card and seems to enjoy it, always coming home with new songs or tales of her friends. She started writing her name in September and since then loves to get words spelled to her and attempts to write them herself. She's a very artistic girl with a love of crafts & music & being a Mommy. After an incident of a big glued chunk of hair having to be cut off (by Daddy while Mommy was on vacation) Sophie got a new short & sassy hairdo. It has made her look so much older. Next week is her Christmas Concert at school and am so looking forward to it. She started Learn To Skate this winter and is picking it up so quickly. They dont give the kids anything to hang on to like I remember from my childhood. They carry them to the middle of the ice and stand them there. They teach them to fall and get up again. It's been a few weeks now of half hour lessons 2x a week and she is now doing bunny hops and skating forward a bit and starting to skate backwards. In March there will be a Ice Show that should be very adorable with all these new little skaters showing off their skills. These 3 & 4 years olds looks so very small out on the ice next to all the big kids.

Chris & I are both at the same jobs - his is underground electrician at the Red Lake GoldMine and mine is very part time in the office at a local grocery store and still a few hours a month at the Sawmill office. Both of mine are very flexible and I work them when Chris is home with the kids. The best of both worlds - being home with the kids & feeling intellectual and adult while making some spending money.

I went to Las Vegas with my friend Annie for a few days. We had such a blast but wasnt exactly a restful vacation. Even though we were in bed at a decent time every night, our days were filled with many miles of walking to see everything we could in the time we had. Highlights were a Helicoptor Tour to the Grand Canyon, Ziplining down Fremont Street, Horseback Riding at Grand Canyon, winning some money at Blackjack, and just seeing all the amazing sights :-)

That's about it I guess. Happy Holidays Everyone!